Forgotten and Reknown
by unanymousdeen
Summary: All it takes is one move - one word to strain a relationship further than it used to stretch. And you never think about all the mistakes until the day you realized you really screwed up, which is almost always too late.


**(A/N): I know, finishing up the very first chapter of my Makorra family has really been a drag. I will try to get it up online as soon as I finish it. I want it to be perfect for you all, since you have been so lovely to me.**

**But here's a story to kill the time. :) I wrote this one a long time ago, and it only occured to me just now that I forgot to post it, so I did, and then I realized that I hadn't completed the story... oh, dear. I'm so embarrased. I'm really sorry to those who have already started reading this and couldn't finish or review, or all that fun stuff. I take full blame for that.**

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Lightning picked at her food, twirling her fork around the noodles drenched in her mother's famous homemade sauce. Cooking had never been one of Lightning's favorite activities, but it grew to be a priority when reality called upon her. She didn't like cooking either; even when it was something her mother always used to make. The smell haunted her but ravaged her taste buds. Sometimes, Lightning found herself reflecting back on the dinner's her lost family shared—the way every meal tasted and the resonance of everyone's laughter in each other's ear. It eased the pain of eating alone.

_Alone…_

It was such a familiar feeling that kept itself bottled up inside her. Lightning never let something as loneliness affect her. It always got in the way of work, the labors of home, etc. Plus, she always had Serah back then, so she was never truly alone. Even when she shut out just about everyone at work she didn't feel alone.

_I'll come home, and I'll see Serah. That's all I need in life._

Lightning remembered telling herself that all the time when she was eighteen.

When Serah had fallen to the fal'Cie, Lightning thought she could get her back and not lose the only person that ever mattered to her. She was all the family she ever had left at the time, which also happened to be the hardest timeline written in her life. An to think now that she had a family of her own…

Lightning doesn't know where exactly Serah was on Gran Pulse right now, and she hasn't for the past few months. Serah mentioned something about an anniversary trip with Snow and that it would be a while. She said that Lightning need not worry about her and that she'd be fine with Snow. Even though the fiery, stubborn woman that Lightning was insisted everything was a terrible idea, she only received sputters of giggles from her sister.

_I'll be fine, Claire._

She had to learn how to drink in those words and realize that maybe everything would be okay. Serah was all grown-up now and didn't need Lightning to make sure she would last. It was a hard thing for the older sister of the Farron family to accept.

Lightning put her fork down, unable to find the feeling of hunger anymore. Now she sat at home, alone and worried sick about her sister and husband, wondering where they both were. She sighed, resting her head on her hand while pulling out the cell phone from her pocket. Lightning knew very well why Cloud wasn't home. As she reminded herself earlier, he was a workaholic, spending hours and hours at his job every single day. Sometimes, it felt as if he liked work more than his own family, but he wouldn't have had his own family with her if he liked work more, would he?

Lightning dialed his number on the cellular device, listening to the sound of its ringing before receiving a quick and raspy response.

"I'm coming home soon, I promise."

"That's what you said an hour ago, Cloud." Lightning grumbled in exasperation. She absolutely hated this response. He always used it every time she called. Lightning kept reminding herself to give him grief for it.

"I'll get take-out on the way so you don't have to cook."

"I already made something since I thought you were coming home an hour ago." Lightning really only did cook just so she could prove her point.

Cloud sighed heavily on the other line. "Soon, I promise."

"Whatever." And like that, she hung up, leaving Cloud to rake his fingers through his golden hair in a fit of frustration.

_Why are you always so difficult? Can't you understand that I'm doing this for us?_

He hated it when she was like this—so persistent and stubborn with his mistakes. He wanted for her to understand why his job was so important. He wasn't exactly the highest paid hero out there.

_I'm terrified that one day, when you come home, your own daughter won't even recognize you._

He remembers hearing those exact words leaving his wife's lips the day he came home from work at five in the morning.

Cloud thought maybe Lightning was having such various mood swings due to her womanly problems, but the more he came home at five or six in the morning did the arguing and hurtful words get worse.

Things turned for the better when Cloud fulfilled the promise that he'd show up at five in the afternoon from work, but it slowly spiraled out of control. He started showing up later and later, which made Lightning all the more mad.

_You said you'd start coming home early, and you can't even accomplish such a simple task._

Lightning slid almost all of the food onto one plate, covering it with a sheet of plastic before adding it to the other contents of the fridge. At least her husband ate the food she made for him, seeing how it's usually gone the next morning.

After moving the spared food onto a small plate and putting the dirty one into the sink, Lightning propped open the small drawer for utensils. She looked for the smallest fork that hid itself within the others and inspected it for cleanliness before tossing it onto the plate that she held.

_You don't do anything but sleep when you're home. I'm always doing everything by myself._

Feeding her own daughter was an activity that Cloud almost never took part in. Lightning couldn't even remember the last time he fed Eda. But every time the toddler took her baby spoon into her mouth, Lightning always thought about how she would react to her father feeding her. After all, Eda was rather feisty when it came to strangers trying to get her to do something. Technically, Cloud would take up the uneasy task of attending to the child's needs. It pained the young mother to think of such a thing—her daughter seeing her father as a stranger.

_Work work work—that's all that ever matters!_

Cloud never took vacations, never had a lunch break, and never took sick days (or any day in general) off. He had to be working because not only did he make money, but it kept him busy and always trying to accomplish something new. Even a job like running a shipping business proved to be challenging for him, but he loved it all the more. Shipping things all over the country was a priority, and he had to make sure that everything went smoothly because he knew how customers reacted when something went wrong. So, he pushed himself to try harder and be more dedicated to his work than normal. He saw his work ethic similar to his wife's. The woman was the Lieutenant of almost every group or soldiers the army had to offer, and she had everyone practically wrapped around her finger. The one thing Cloud never understood was how easy everything was for her. He ruled out respect and kindness ages ago. She was a stubborn, bold, rough, sensitive woman whom he loved anyways, no matter how difficult Lightning proved to be. But he could never figure out how she does everything without getting hurt or killed, and have the ability to come home early enough to take care of Eda at the same time.

Her salary was astounding for someone who works ten hours a day, four days a week. Cloud had to admit that he was jealous. He thought many times that he should just hand over the business to one of the shipping company's best employees and go join the military. If Lightning put her life in danger every single day and came out unscathed and alive, then why couldn't he?

_We almost never talk. And when we do, it's nothing but arguing and disagreements._

"I want to join the military." Cloud blurted out.

Lightning dropped her fork, as well as her jaw. "Are you kidding me?"

"No, I'm not. I'm serious. I want to join the military."

"Just how stupid are you, Cloud?" Lightning growled, slamming her fist down on the table. "We don't need Eda to know that both her parents might not come home someday."

Now he was angry. Slamming his own fists on the table, he answered in return, "I could protect you on the front line and make sure that you come home to Eda because that child needs her mother more than her father!"

"It's not like you're taking part in any of the parenting anyways! You don't even call Eda your own daughter, for spirits sake."

"Where did you come up with that bullshit?"

"Open your eyes and face reality, Cloud! You're never home. You never do anything with her. Work is always your excuse. You don't put any effort into caring for her, either."

"That's not true! I work so that I can get everything she needs."

"You could lose your job and we could still live as middle class people. I have a rather high-paying job, and we could live off my salary."

"Oh, so now you're the most important figure in the world, huh? Miss I'm-the-only-parent-here."

"Because I am!"

The heated argument came to a screeching halt when loud cries were heard from Eda's room. Both parents instantly stood up, but Cloud let out a loud retort. "We'll see what kind of parent I am. I can care for her!" He then stomped off towards the bedroom, palms curled into tight fists.

Lightning brought her fingers up to her temples, rubbing them gently, hoping to ease the awful pounding sensation in her head. She really didn't like arguing with Cloud, especially over their daughter.

_She cries because she wants someone she knows to come to her aid._

Cloud failed miserably in attempting to calm the wailing toddler. In fact, he actually made the situation worse.

He remembered the look on Lightning's face when she came into the room. She didn't give him even the smallest atom of remorse when he displayed the hurt on his face from failure. She simply snatched the girl from her arms and stormed out of the room. Cloud was left standing there, reflecting on everything Lightning said to him at dinner.

_It's not like you're taking part in any of the parenting anyways! You don't even call Eda your own daughter._

Not even his own daughter recognized him when he came to her crib. She launched her tiny fists through the air when he tried to pick her up. Each time he tried to shush her and calm her down, Eda wailed even more. She didn't want him. Eda didn't want to be held by some stranger known as Cloud, her unrecognizable father. It stung at Cloud's heart deeply. He thought that Eda would always remember him as her father, another person to ease her soul.

_I quit. I can't handle this anymore._

"Tifa, can I talk to you for a minute?"

The raven-haired woman spun around, coming face-to-face with her boss—the man who ran the whole business. "What can I help you with, sir?" She responded, her mood cheery.

"I wanted to ask you about that promotion I offered you weeks ago; the one you kindly denied."

Tifa nodded her head.

"I want to hand over the business to you. I'm quitting my job. I can't handle it anymore, and I'm almost entirely sure that business will be much smoother with you as the head boss."

_What's been done is done. There's nothing you can do to change it now._

"You _what_?" Lightning seethed, eyes staring at Cloud with an intense amount of hatred. She couldn't believe that he would just hand over his position to an employee and simply walk away from it all. "How could you be so stupid?"

"Like I said three million times already: I'm doing it for us." And Cloud couldn't believe Lightning was so infuriated over him leaving the very thing that causes every single one of their arguments behind. He thought she'd thank him for it. "Why are you so upset over the fact that we won't have to argue over my job anymore?"

"It's not your job that's the problem. It's you!" She shouted in return, pointing a threating finger in Cloud's direction. "You keep making all these mistakes that lead us to nothing but fighting. Did you really think I was being serious when I said we'd survive with only my salary?"

"I'm not as stupid as you think, Lightning. I'm going to join the military and I'm going to make a wild profit out of it!"

"You're crazy! You have _no_ idea what you're getting yourself into!"

"I believe that now, I do realize what I'm getting myself into."

Lightning looked away, crossing her arms over her chest. She didn't believe him for a second.

Cloud's eyebrows furrowed together in frustration. He had enough of dealing with her. "Now, I'm wondering why I hadn't seen the pain and hardships that came with marrying you either."

_I'll tell you once, and I'll tell you again: I'm doing it for us._

Cloud thought that maybe leaving Lightning for good would be better for both of them. Their once strong and flawless relationship was history, and whatever they shared now seemed to not even exist anymore. Cloud recalls every single argument he had with Lightning, and they all were clear as day. But what he couldn't remember was the last time they kissed, or shared any sense of love with each other. He can remember the couch being his only bed for the past month, but he can't remember sleeping with his wife in their bed at all. He can't remember how she sleeps—whether it was light or loud. He can't remember if she had any dreams, and he can't remember if she moved. He couldn't remember anything. He could only remember her harsh voice and vicious tone. He remembered the way she snapped sometimes, and the look of fire in her eyes.

"I should've left you a long time ago." He growled.

_It's not like I've ever been able to stop you before._

"So, what? You're just going to walk away right now? Leave your only family behind?"

_Only family…_, Cloud thought. It was true. She and Eda were his only family. Cloud didn't have anyone else—no parents, no cousins, no aunts or uncles—just a wife and daughter. He had absolutely nowhere to go, and he definitely didn't want to stay with any friends. Most of them usually treated their homes like trash. It would be a constant reminder of his extremely complicated relationship—something for nothing, but unworthy to be thrown away.

"I'll come back."

And that's when he heard it. The pain, hurt, and disappointment that came with the resonance of her voice: "When?"

Cloud furrowed his eyebrows and turned around. Lightning never displayed such weakness, even in her voice. She never presented herself to be so vulnerable and broken. She was crying—silent tears striding down her cheeks. Her palms weren't curled into tight fists anymore, and the anger and frustration that she displayed only moments ago had vanished.

_I only cry when I know I've lost what's always kept me going._

Cloud sighed, and strode over towards Lightning. She backed away the slightest as he got closer to her weak form, but the moment she ended up enveloped within her husband's arms did her body melt into his. Cloud's embrace was warm and welcoming—always the way she remembered it. Lightning brought her arms up to wrap around his torso before burying her face in his clothes. Her hot tears sunk into Cloud's shirt, soiling the skin underneath.

"I'm so sorry." He murmured into her rosy-colored hair.

Lightning didn't squirm or make any noise. She just stood there, returning his embrace and silently crying over all the things that went wrong with her marriage. She thought deeply on what her husband retorted earlier. She still wondered if whether or not he loved her anymore, and it pained her to think that this embrace might be their last. Lightning couldn't lose Cloud—not to anything.

"I screwed up, and I know that. Send me to the seventh level of hell for all the terrible things I've said to you, if you wish, but I really am truly sorry for everything that's happened."

"I forgive you."

Those words didn't make him sigh, or smile, or laugh with joy. They almost made him feel guiltier—like he didn't deserve any of it. And Cloud thought he honestly didn't. But Lightning seemed to think otherwise. Perhaps she was giving him another chance, and Cloud had to make sure that he never screwed up again. Who knows if Lightning will be as sympathetic the next time.

"Everything's going to be okay."

"What do you see in me that's worth fighting for?"

Cloud's eyebrows furrowed again at her question. Pulling her back by the shoulders, he looked her well into the eye. "Where did that come from?"

"I just don't understand what you see in me."

"Well," Cloud raised an arm to wrap around her hip. "I see a woman who's as beautiful as Eden herself. You're strong, brave, stubborn, persistent, and heart-warming. I see someone with a personality that shines so bright, even the blind can see it. I see a caring mother who loves her daughter and would do anything to keep her family safe. I see a woman who I don't deserve, but I have anyways. I see a woman who I love, and she loves me too."

Lightning smiled for the first time in what felt like ages. It wasn't the widest grin that she could present the world with, but it was a smile worth seeing for Cloud. Anything worked at this point, and all he needed to see was his wife happy. Seeing her smile made him smile, and Cloud wanted to make that grin stay as long as possible. He leaned in until he felt his lips capture Lightning's in his own.

_You said you'd be safe. You promised._

A knock struck the door of the Strife complex. Cloud rushed to the door and answered it as if his life depended on it. An officer stood at the entrance—one Cloud recognized to hail from the Guardian Corps. Just the sight of the man had Cloud in an all-out-sense of panic. These men only came out to deliver negative broadcasts to loved ones of hurt or deceased members of the military. Cloud's mind instantly programmed to the idea that Lightning was either gone or seriously hurt.

"Mr. Strife, it is of my deepest apologies to appear to you with the news of your wife's current status."

Cloud blinked. _This can't be happening. This isn't happening…_

"Lieutenant Farron is fading from us. We fear that she may not live past the next few hours."

"Where is she?" Cloud asked, almost at a whisper. He couldn't bring himself to yell or scream or cry. He couldn't bring himself to do anything but ask, and when he got that answer, he immediately jumped into his car. He was about to lose his wife. He was about to lose _Lightning_. And yet, he still couldn't fathom the idea that she was close to death. Cloud briefly thought that the military had mistaken her identity, and went in search of the wrong person. But how could they screw up something as critical as this? Why would they tell him about the wrong person? He said _Lieutenant Farron_. Who else has that surname but Lightning?

The hospital was painful and almost disgusting to look at, but Cloud didn't hesitate to burst right through the front door, and demand an answer from the woman at the front desk. She was mortified by Cloud's harsh demeanor. She had never seen someone so desperate and angry before. She didn't flinch when she gave him what he wanted, and Cloud nearly knocked over six surgeons as he sprinted towards the ICU. What he found was something he hadn't been prepared to see.

Surgeons and doctors stood around the occupied bed, yelling and shouting to each other, "It didn't work! The lung is still collapsed!"

_The lung is still collapsed… _Cloud felt like he was going to throw up, and possibly faint from hearing those words. Lightning's lung was collapsed, and whatever the surgeons had tried to fix the problems were all failures. Cloud could see Lightning lying on the bed, but before he could take another step closer, one of the doctor's had spotted him and immediately tried to shove him out of the room. "You can't be in here!" He shouted.

"I damn well can! That's my wife in there! You have to let me in!"

"I'm sorry sir, but we can't. She's in too much trauma for any witnesses to be present in this room." And just like that, the doctor had proceeded back into the complex, locking the door behind him.

_I wanted to tell you how much I loved you, but you slipped out of my grip so quickly that I fell apart._

"Pneumothorax. It was caused by a gunshot wound to her left lung. The bullet penetrated the bleb in her left lung, and the organ collapsed. We successfully removed the source of the problem, but for reasons we cannot fathom, her lung is taking too much time to regenerate, and we fear that her life is on the line. As of now, your wife is currently awake, but in pain. We have her attached to a Incentive spirometer, which will breathe for her until the lung is completely healed."

"Can I see her?" Cloud asked, his mind running several races all at once. As important as the information just presented to him was important, seeing Lightning was the only thing that mattered right now. The woman was at the brink of death, and Cloud needed her to know that, if she was to depart from this world, his voice would be that last thing she heard.

"Yes, but do not involve her too extensively. There will be a nurse stationed in the room at all times to keep watch on Mrs. Farron."

_It hurt to see how helpless you were. Only a day ago, you could breathe on your own._

It pained him to see how she looked.

The way her chest sat made Cloud all the more sick—how it was lopsided on the left. He could see the right side of her chest rise and fall with each breathe that she took, but the left of her sternum was almost completely motionless. It was as if that part of her body was empty. Her ribs stuck out like the neon lights of downtown in the middle of the night. She had tubes going through her nose, her arms, and her mouth, all in a life-saving attempt to re-oxygenate her body.

It pained Cloud even more to see Lightning's eyes watching him, but she not able to say a word. The look in her eyes just killed him, and he couldn't bring himself to look any longer. So, he held his beloved wife's hand and mouthed prayers, asking for help from the deities above to save Lightning. Her hand wouldn't twitch as every tear fell upon her skin. She would just lay back, too weak and too tired to say or do anything. She couldn't find the strength to move her own head to certain angles, and her eyelids threatened to lay way to a painful slumber.

He wouldn't leave her side, not ever. Not in this time of desperation and need. She had to stay alive, or she'd die by his side. Cloud couldn't hold back the pain that came with thinking of losing her. Lightning was everything to him: a wife, a mother, a friend, family, everything…

He couldn't lose her. He'd be nothing without her. Oh, how he wished her could lay a hand upon her heart and bring her body back to life.

_When I knew I could come see you, there was nothing that could stop me._

Cloud couldn't stop shaking on the drive to the hospital. His palms were excessively sweaty, his forehead dripped, and the air around him seemed to be depriving his lungs of oxygen. He wasn't at all nervous; he just couldn't help the anxiety and the fear. His hands slipped along the handles of his car as he sped down the freeway, unmindful of the speed limit like the other citizens.

For the past two-and-a-half weeks, Cloud's mind hardly strayed from Lightning. He hasn't endured an average slumber, the prevalent purple lines under his eyes as evidence. He had refused to any means of the _hanging-out_ with his colleagues from work, and was confined to his home, calling the hospital every now and then.

The home was always silent. Cloud found no purpose in engaging in watching television, or searching for jobs online, or reading a book or anything of that matter. If he wasn't sitting on the couch thinking, or eating, or using the restroom, he was caring for his daughter, Eda. It proved to be a very perplexing week assisting to her every need. It was as if the child knew of her mother's condition, and had isolated herself to silence. She only cried when her diaper required changing or when her stomach required the addition of food to its contents. Eda may have been almost two-years-old, but her behavior was of that to a baby—only crying when she needed something or wanted attention. And when she wanted attention, Cloud could never sooth those tears. It took him hours to decipher what she desired from him. Eda would paw at Cloud's leg and bring her face to his knee, soaked in water works. Cloud would pick her up and carry her around, showing Eda anything she might recognize as Lightning's.

One day, when she wanted down from her father's arms, Eda made her way to her parents' bedroom. She went up to the closet door and pushed it open, planting her tiny palms on the mirror-like door. Cloud jumped out to her when Eda began pulling at something, and when he heard a hanger crash against the shelf it was attached to. Eda sat on the floor, holding Lightning's military uniform—her jacket, to be precise. She brought it up to her face, taking a whiff of its scent and then hugging it to her body.

It broke Cloud's heart.

_It kills me to think that I all of sudden care when you might never come back. Why was I so stupid before?_

When he received the call, stating that he could _now, finally_ come visit his wife in her hospice room, Cloud nearly dropped the phone in his hand. He instantly asked if he could bring his daughter, and was all too relieved when the nurse replied with a "Yes."

Cloud ran over to his slumbering daughter in her crib, and carefully raised her into his arms. Eda didn't protest to her sudden arousal, but dropped her head into the crook of her father's neck.

"Let's go see your mommy in the infirmary."

_This is it. The moment I've been waiting for. It's felt like an eternity, and I can't wait any longer._

There was a doctor seated outside her room, one legged crossed over the other as he finalized certain paperwork clipped to the board in his hands. He looked up from his glasses at the sight of brown and black clamping along the tile floor before him. There was a tall blond man with a rosy-haired child walking down the hall. The little girl was enough to tell the doctor that this was the supposed husband and daughter whom had relations with the patient in the room adjacent to him.

"Mr. Strife?"

Cloud looked up from Eda to the speaker of his name. There was a doctor perched by the room of his desired destination. "Yes?"

"I presume that you are here to see Mrs. Farron?"

Cloud shook his head.

The doctor stood up from his seat, brushing off his lab coat in the process. "Well, you are free to enter, but please do so quietly. I'm ignorant as to whether or not your wife is still asleep."

Only hearing you words, "you are free to enter" was enough for him. Cloud instantly pounced to the door, but opened it quietly. His anxiety was flaring at this point. All he wanted to do was see Lightning—see her usual colored, bright face and piercing blue eyes. He wanted to hear her voice, see her move, and watch her interact with him and Eda. Cloud felt like a lonely child, waiting for his parents to come home from work after a long day.

_And you, you make me run. And you, you make me want to live for you. (_"_You" by Fisher)_

He held her hand for half-an-hour until she woke up.

Lightning stirred, forcing her eyes open slowly as she stared at the ceiling. She felt so numb, and so tired, and so groggy. Her chest hurt a little with every breath, but it wasn't anything that really bothered her. Lightning didn't even notice Cloud had her palm in his grip until she felt the light squeeze. It brought her attention to her right side, where Cloud was. He sat adjacent to the bed on a small, black stool. Her vision was hazy, but she could make out his form just fine. The layers of yellow above a patch of pearl-color were enough.

"Cloud?" She murmured with a quiet tone, her voice shaky and throat dry.

"Welcome back." Cloud responded, a huge smile marking his features. He clasped her hand tighter, rubbing her knuckles with his thumb.

Lightning blinked several times, in hopes of regaining any correction to her vision. It slowly began to clear and focus and she could re-recognize where she was, and what was around her.

"What—what are you doing here?"

"We came to see you. The hospital called and stated you were well enough to be visited."

Lightning turned her head to look at her husband, and that was when she noticed a small, rosy-haired figure sitting in his lap. She smiled. "Eda…"

"_Children are the anchors that hold a mother to life." – Sophocles_

"Look at you." She purred, ruffling her daughter's hair from her confined position. Eda laughed, squeezing the jacket she had in her grip. Lightning squinted at the object before looking back up at her husband. "Is that mine?"

Cloud chuckled. "Yeah. She just wouldn't let go of it. That jacket smells just like you."

_We can restart again once you're home. My eyes are open now, and you can trust me on that._

It took another few months to restore the balance the little family had lost. Once Lightning was completely healed, she was still unable to return to work for another month. Although she was continuously receiving her weekly paycheck from the military, Cloud found himself employment at the GC Commander Center, where his technological skills came handy. And, it was as close to _military_ of an occupation that he would handle. Plus, it actually paid good money.

When he got home that day, Lightning had positioned herself at the dinner table. She held a cup of tea in her palms, and looked up from the granite countertop when the opening of the front door was audible. "You're home." She said, smiling.

"I sure am."


End file.
